“We were the antithesis of a Frat, but we threw great parties,” Perry Rotella ’85 said when asked about what Alpha Chi Rho was known for at Penn.
Perry graduated with a dual major in Math and Economics in 1985. He remembers many funny stories from his time in the fraternity, especially ones that included causing trouble around the house.
“After one of our parties, we cleared the dining room, poured beer all over and used the dining room as a ‘beer’ slide,” he said. “We were up most of the night running, diving, and sliding through the house.”
Since graduating from Penn, Perry has enjoyed a long career in Information Technology and executive leadership, where he has held roles including the global CTO of AIG, CIO at Moody’s, CIO and Group Executive at Verisk Analytics, and Managing Director of Financial Services for Box.com.
According to Perry, he considers himself a “father first,” and has four children and one granddaughter.
Perry is also an outdoorsman who loves hiking, camping, and fishing. Most recently, he has learned how to skate, and he plays ice hockey several times a week.
Of course, he still makes time for the friendships that have endured since his Alpha Chi Rho days. Perry said he joined a close group “who have become lifelong friends,” that he sees regularly, including Mark Coogan ‘83, Ron Lewittes ‘83, Vinnie Keenan ‘80, Marty Isaac ‘85, and Bob Richard ’83.
When asked which brother made the biggest impact on his time at Penn, Perry said that it is the whole group led by Mark Coogan, who started a tradition of a weekend at his cabin in Becket, Massachusetts. It is a tradition that is still going strong, and one that Perry hopes never goes away. “I think we are on Becket 45 which was aptly renamed Becket 2023,” Perry said.
Road trips have always been an Alpha Chi Rho tradition, including ones that happened unannounced. “One night at Smokey Joes in May a group of us were talking about the beach. Five hours later, we happened to end up on Virginia Beach watching the sun rise,” Perry said. “What a night and what a day!”
The bond between Perry and his brothers runs deep, as he mentioned that his brothers have been there for him through the good as well as the bad.
“Mark has always had my back as I went through a rough separation and divorce,” he said. “We are truly family.”